AMHERST — Six downtown bars, including three establishments owned by business partners who sponsored the pre-St. Patrick’s Day event known as Blarney Blowout, are voluntarily delaying their openings Saturday. Town Manager John Musante told the Select Board Monday that he appreciates the willingness of the owners of the bars to work with the town, the …

EDITOR’S NOTE: Making a living in the arts is always a challenge. In this story, Gazette arts writer Steve Pfarrer speaks with three members of the “creative economy” about the ways they make a living while making art. The artists are Kim Carlino, an Easthampton painter and independent curator; musician Jim Henry; and writer Wally …

BOSTON — Thousands of state employees could receive incentives to retire early under a proposal Gov. Charlie Baker hopes will help plug a sizeable deficit in the next state budget, the administration confirmed Monday. The governor’s office is hoping about 4,500 workers will opt for early retirement, saving the state about $178 million, according to …

AMHERST — The Hopkins Academy boys basketball team had an eight-point lead but took firm control of the game without adding points on the board. The second-seeded Golden Hawks, led by Joe Yusko, Zach Kelley and Jon Morrison, imposed their will on the interior and wore Turners Falls down in the second half of a …

AMHERST — Every game is a learning experience and for the Hopkins Academy girls basketball team, the toughest of the season was at the Curry Hicks Cage on Monday. The No. 5 Golden Hawks were not able to get their offense going and were outsized by No. 1 Quaboag as they fell, 52-27, in the …

KEVIN GUTTING
Williston Northampton School grounds manager Joe Zewinski clears a season's worth of snow from the track at Galbraith Field in Easthampton on Monday. Zewinski says the process takes more than one day and involves several steps to move the snow from the infield to outside the track oval.
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KEVIN GUTTING
Full sun, temperatures in the mid-20s and calm winds made for a pleasant afternoon for Steve Leiblum and Lennie Ware of Pelham as they walked their dogs Rosa, left, and Red in an area near the Norwottuck Rail Trail south of Amherst College on Friday.
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JERREY ROBERTS
Bryan Torres, who is an undocumented immigrant who is an Amherst College student, Monday at the college.
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GRANBY — The School Committee Monday night negotiated a contract with Judith Houle, the former superintendent of the Belchertown schools, who has been named interim superintendent. Houle will take over …

SPRINGFIELD — The two games during the regular season between the league rival Amherst Regional and Chicopee boys basketball teams were both blowouts. It appeared their Western Massachusetts Division 1 …

EASTHAMPTON — An Easthampton resident recently expressed concern over the Easthampton police department’s acquisition of two webcams donated by a local business owner. As an Easthampton detective, I would like …